We look at the 1950s Taiwan Strait Crises and how close China and the US came to nuclear war. We see how the tail wagged the dog as little Taiwan bent the US to its will. And, throughout the crisis, we will see how Mao’s provocations eventually persuaded the USSR to aid China’s nuclear development.

Paul Letters is a historian, journalist, educator and novelist. See paulletters.com for more history, including a daily ‘On-This-Day-75-Years-Ago’ feed, with photographs. Plus the novel that combines: the real history of the Allies’ first strike against Nazi Germany; Paul’s granny’s escape (as a teenager) from 1939 Poland to 1940 Paris to wartime London; the ‘Double-Cross System’, the Special Operations Executive and assassination in Prague.

Each month on Noreen Mir’s 1-2-3 Show (RTHK Radio 3), Paul Letters examines events from this month in history. Recorded at Radio Television Hong Kong Studios, Broadcast Drive, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Cover work by Gill Bertram.